Clear Window Film That Blocks Heat Without Tinting

The short answer

Yes, this exists, and in this valley it is one of the most-asked-for products we install. A high-light-transmission film lets nearly all the daylight through while still rejecting a worthwhile share of the solar heat. From inside it reads as clear glass. From outside the building looks like the building.

The reason people ask is always the same. You bought a house at Kayenta, or above the Red Cliffs, or looking at Sand Hollow, and the view is the point. You want the west elevation to stop cooking at four in the afternoon without turning the window that sold you the house into a sunglasses lens.

The trade-off, in numbers

Being straight about this matters, because the near-clear option is not free performance. Three films from our range, at three points on the scale:

Source: UCA Distributing window film specifications, 1 Jan 2023. All figures measured on 1/4" clear glass; performance differs on dual-pane and Low-E glass.

Read the first row and the last. Going near-clear costs you real heat rejection compared with the darkest film we carry — but it still takes out 45% of the total solar energy and 74% of the infra-red, which is not a token amount. For a room whose whole purpose is the view, that is usually the right side of the trade.

Who this is right for

• View homes. Kayenta, the hillside properties near the Red Cliffs, anything looking at Zion or Sand Hollow. The view is the asset.
• Rooms that are already dim. A north-facing or deeply shaded room with a heat problem on one window cannot afford to lose daylight.
• HOA-sensitive exteriors. Low exterior reflectivity means the building's appearance barely changes, which matters where the HOA has an opinion about it.
• Anyone who has been talked into dark film before and disliked it. This is the honest alternative.

And who it is not right for: if the room is genuinely unusable and nobody cares how it looks from the street, a stronger film will serve you better. We will say so.

The one thing it will not fix

Glare. Look at the table again — the near-clear film reduces glare by 29% where the dark one reaches 93%. Glare reduction and daylight are close to the same dial, so a film that keeps your view bright also keeps a good deal of the brightness that makes a television hard to watch at five in the afternoon.

If glare is the actual complaint rather than heat, say so early — it changes the recommendation more than any other single thing. The light-transmission scale is where that decision really gets made.

Mixing films across a house

The best result on most view homes is not one film everywhere. It is near-clear on the windows that frame the view, and something with more muscle on the elevations nobody is admiring.

A typical split on a west-facing St. George home: near-clear across the great-room glass and the dining window that looks at the rock, a mid-range film on the west bedrooms, and nothing at all on the north side. That costs less than filming the whole house with a premium product and works better than filming it all with one compromise.

Seeing it on your own glass

Samples against your actual window, at the hour that bothers you. That is the only test that settles it, because a film reads differently on your glass, in your light, than it does in any photograph — including the ones here.

Browse the full range and what each film is for, or go to residential window tinting. Call 435-233-2398 and we will bring samples to the room that is the problem.

Common questions

Is there a window film that blocks heat but is not dark?

Yes. Inviso 70 keeps 70% of the daylight coming through and still rejects 45% of total solar energy and 74% of infra-red, measured on 1/4" clear glass; performance differs on dual-pane and Low-E glass. From inside it reads essentially as clear glass.

Will clear film ruin my red-rock view?

That is the whole reason this category exists. A high-light-transmission film is chosen precisely so the view stays the view — you lose the heat and a share of the glare, not the reason you bought the house.

How much performance do I give up going near-clear?

A real amount, and it is worth being straight about. Inviso 70 rejects 45% of total solar energy where our darkest option reaches 80%, measured on 1/4" clear glass; performance differs on dual-pane and Low-E glass. You are trading heat rejection for daylight, and for most view homes that is the right trade.

Does clear film still block UV?

Yes. Every film we install rejects up to 99% of UV with qualifying film, including the near-clear options, so the fading-exposure benefit does not depend on going dark.

Will it look mirrored from outside?

No. High-light-transmission films have low exterior reflectivity, so the building keeps its normal appearance. The mirrored look comes from reflective film, which is a different product for a different problem.

Can I put clear film on some windows and darker film on others?

Yes, and on view homes that is often the sensible answer. The windows framing the view get the near-clear film; a west-facing office or a bedroom nobody sits in can take something stronger.